Low-carbon learning expeditions

Every year, thousands of companies take their teams on exotic business trips, remote seminars, “offsites” and other “business trips”, which contribute significantly to their carbon footprint. According to the Business Climate Convention (CEC), business trips can represent up to 90% of the CO2 emissions of a service company.

Before a business trip, 79% of employees ask themselves “whether a trip is worth it or not”. Take the example of learning expeditions, often assimilated to technological safaris, these pilgrimages to Meccas of innovation such as San Francisco, Shanghai or Bangalore sometimes reveal a less glamorous reality: a visit to Google's high-tech cafeteria in Mountain View or an Instagram photo on the Facebook rooftop in Menlo Park do not necessarily make for a fruitful or rewarding learning experience.

Organizing a seminar in Tel Aviv or Shenzen does not solve all the relational or strategic problems of a company either. For the sociologist Christophe Dejours, these events resemble “children's games”, marked by a certain immaturity. In his opinion, they are tools of regression that hinder the emergence of a serious and mature discussion within teams. Days spent solving puzzles, attending powerpoint presentations, or participating in role-playing games don't seem to improve the ability to work effectively as a team either.

On the contrary, these activities increase the group's pressure on everyone. Finally, where displacement was supposed to create trust and cohesion, it often creates distrust and fear. Talk to This Airbus executive Who wanted to force their employees to walk barefoot on broken glass during a seminar...

Another form of business tourism is not only possible but also more frugal and more learning. Since 2016, for example, the In:expeditions studio has specialized in organizing Low carbon learning expeditions. Thanks to a mapping of more than 2500 positive impact projects connecting twenty-five cities in Europe, exploration formats are organized by train. The objective is twofold: to allow decision-makers to stay one step ahead of their sector while polluting as little as possible during their trip.

And these low-carbon expeditions are not lacking in learning potential: Europe is full of hubs of inspiration and innovations with a positive impact that entrepreneurs around the world are again starting to envy. Niklas Zennström and Tom Wehmeier, directors of Atomico, once again recalled the following sentence in an article in Le Monde on 13 June: “Europe has the potential to create more value in the field of tech than any other region in the world.” With 300 companies valued at more than one billion dollars founded in Europe, there is therefore plenty to see and do. “Especially in the area of social innovation and sustainable development where Europeans excel.” Look for examples amsterdam, a pioneer city in the circular economy and the Doughnut economy, copenhagen, transition champion, london or Berlin, at the forefront of the climate tech scene, The Brittany region, a recognized low tech laboratory, or even Basel and Barcelona, international capitals of the regenerative economy.

And while innovation does not stop at the borders of Europe, video expeditions allow, thanks to a network of international correspondents, to produce immersive and interactive duplexes broadcast live from distant places. This approach, also developed by the journalists at In:expeditions, uses digital tools such as zoom or teams to connect businesses and renew their relationship with the whole world, without leaving their office.

We know that, traveling to the other side of the world does not make you more open or interesting.

On the other hand, if we succeed in making good use of technologies, the use of soft modes of transport and new media representations of travel, we can transform business tourism into a truly transformative learning experience, focused not on the destination but on the learner and the journey itself.